NEWS

Kenya 7s unleash final squad for 2024 Paris Olympics

By Amanga collins

Posted on July 3, 2024

Kenya 7s captains Tony Omondi and Vincent Onyala in Challenger Series. PHOTO/Rugby Afrique

The Kenya 7s squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics has been named with two players set for their second Olympic appearance in July.

Co-captain Vincent Onyala is one of the members of the 2020 squad who will be heading to France for his second appearance. Onyala was picked for the 2020 Olympics when he was 24 years old.

Kenya 7s returnees

Herman Humwa is another player heading to the Olympics after making the 2020 Olympics squad. The Kenya Harlequin captain represented the side in the Tokyo Olympics alongside Onyala.

Kenya 7s huddle in Challenger Series. PHOTO/Rugby Afrique

The rest of the players are set for their maiden Olympics, they include Co-captain Tony Omondi, John Okoth, Kevin Wekesa, George Ooro and Samuel Asati.

Brian Tanga, Nigel Amaitsa, speedsters Patrick Odongo, Lamec Ambetsa and Chrisant Ojwang have also made their cut for their maiden Olympics.

Festus Shiasi and Dennis Abukuse will be the travelling reserves.

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The pools for the 2024 Paris Olympics 7s tournament were announced, with 12 teams set to compete for the title in matches scheduled for July.

African champions Kenya 7s have been placed in Pool B, alongside second-seeds Argentina, who had an impressive run in the World 7s Series, as well as Australia and Samoa.

New Zealand, the top seeds, are in Pool A with Ireland, South Africa, and Japan. Pool C features the 2016 and 2020 champions Fiji, hosts France, the USA, and Uruguay.

The men’s 7s competition will be played between July 24-27, while the women’s tournament will be held from July 28-30.

Kenya 7s player Patrick Odongo scorers. PHOTO /Mike Lee/ for World Rugby

For the first time, the rugby sevens matches will start two days before the opening ceremony, with the men’s preliminary and quarterfinal stages.

The competition will take a break for the opening ceremony on July 26 before the medal-winning teams are officially unveiled a day later. The women’s tournament will culminate with the gold and bronze medal matches on July 30.

Hosts France were joined by New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia, who secured their spots by ranking in the top four positions of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023.

Regional qualifiers include Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania), and Japan (Asia), with South Africa securing a spot through the Repechage.